The Last Opportunity
by Iamtomriddle'ssister
Summary: They say a book could change your life... Hermione soon makes the decision that will greatly impact her and others lives.


**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately for me, I don't own any of the Harry Potter books.

**Author's Note:** This is not a time-travel fanfic. Well at least not your usual one... I was watching a movie with my Dad when the idea struck me. I do hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'll sure be writing it! (Tips for improvement are welcomed, of course.) If you lot are confused at any point of the story, tell me. And thank you for reading!

**_"_**_Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.**" **_  
_― William Penn_

_Time_; funny how a single word could hold such significance, yet no one seems to act differently towards it. 'We've got all the time we need' they say, when in fact they don't.  
If there was one thing to describe your life perfectly it would be a stopwatch. The only difference is you don't get to see the time left. That's the sick cruelty of life.

We know we don't have all the time in the world, we know that there's no such thing as immortality, well for us that is… We just chose to be ignorant towards that strikingly very important factor of each and every one of our lives. _Time_; uncontrollable, untouchable and undetermined. That is how Hermione Jean Granger chose to think of it.

Despite having meddled with time herself, her thoughts on the matter never changed; remained un-shattered. That is until she had the fortune of stumbling upon a certain book.

Hermione Granger had spent the night at Grimmauld Place along-side George. Oddly enough, the duo had become inconsiderably close after the battle that occurred not three months ago. They were always together, except when they each respectively had to use the loo, of course. Other than that, they were inseparable. This is why they had become the current occupants of Grimmauld Place. The remainder of the extended Weasley family didn't understand their need for each other, so they thanked Merlin the day Harry had found Potter Manor.

War changes people. Sometimes for the better... Sometimes for the worst. But once war hits a person, they become mentally injured. You may think that you've ridden yourself of that large hole etched in your heart but you never truly do. You choose to ignore it.

Hermione had never regretted being friends with Harry despite what others may think. She never regretted wiping her parents' memory of her. Nor did she regret opening that book.

Living in Grimmauld Place had its perks, one of them being able to visit the extraordinary Black Library. Of course, the opportunity of reading so many books, so many that not even she has heard of, had made her a frequent visitor of said Black Library. So it wouldn't be so surprising to find Hermione approaching an old looking book. She was never one to hold her curiosity; her need to _know_ had overcome all.

'Beautiful' thought Hermione as she reached out to touch the book. It truly was. It was a medium olive green sized book, with the words _'Veritatem post eam omnia...' _written on the cover in gold.

'The truth behind it all? Interesting...' She murmured. Ever so slowly she flipped the page. It was as though time stopped as soon as her fingers touched the rippled page. Hermione cast a quick tempus to find that indeed time had stopped. Wand in hand Hermione slowly put the book aside.

'Oh no dearie, I do think that the book is very necessary for the trip I am about to send you on' Said a melodic voice that seemed to have come from nowhere. Clutching her wand even tighter, Hermione grabbed the book roughly from the shelf. Expecting the worst, she closed her eyes only to hear a bell like laugh echoing in the empty Library.

'You can open your eyes sweetie; I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not even physically there to do so you see... and I thought you were smart-' the voice snorted. Hermione opened her eyes in annoyance. 'Just who do you think you are?' she snapped. No one insulted her intelligence, no one. 'Oooh, feisty are you? Calm yourself, I do not wish to fight you. In fact, I'm giving you an opportunity you simply cannot pass up!' the voice replied. This got Hermione interested. Whoever the voice belonged to must have noticed as it continued. 'You see, the book you're holding onto right now is actually mine. It may or may not be my journal. Allow me to introduce myself...' a glowing body appeared out of nowhere, A man soon to replace it.

He stood with a cocky grin plastered on his face, his ebony hair brushing his shoulders. 'The name's Phineas Black' he said with a smirk.

And that's when Hermione for the first time in the entirety of the 19 years she's lived, was left speechless.

**A/N:** And that's it folks, that's all I'm going to be writing today. Until next week...

**PLEASE REVIEW!**  
**-**_ZNA. :) _


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